Obayana Ajanaku will play the djembe drums Saturday at the Children’s Museum International Festival. (Submitted photo)

Obayana Ajanaku, who leads Indigenous Vibes, has traveled to Brazil, Russia, and Africa as a professional drummer. He teaches African drumming at Austin East High School in Knoxville, and he has introduced drumming in other Knox County schools.

On Saturday, Ajanaku’s Indigenous Vibes will be the featured entertainer at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge International Festival, a family-friendly gathering offering entertainment, crafts, and cuisines from cultures around the world. Music, dance, comedy, and martial arts will be on stage throughout the day, and children may make and take home a variety of international crafts.

“Our purpose is to reach out to the community, to talk about unity, diversity, and our outreach program with youth,” Ajanaku said, adding that at-risk youth benefit from learning drumming and participating in performances.

He said he has been drumming since he was six years old, encouraged by his mother. She was interested in the African culture and encouraged her children to learn African drumming and dance. He entertains and educates with the djembe drums, a set of drums that all work together, he explained. [Read more…]

Indigenous Vibes, a culture-based entertainment group that creates positive vibrations using traditional West African drums, will be the featured performer when the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge hosts its annual International Festival on Saturday, February 18.

Led by Obayana Ajanaku, Indigenous Vibes drummers use the djembe drums to bring the message of diversity, confidence, unity, and pride through their entertainment, a press release said. The festival audience will be invited to participate in dancing to the drum rhythm.

The family-friendly International Festival will present entertainment, crafts, and cuisines from cultures around the world, with musical and dance entertainment on stage throughout the day and crafts for children to make and take home, the press release said.

The festival entertainment will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. February 18 at the Children’s Museum, which is at 461 West Outer Drive, with doors opening at 9:30 a.m. [Read more…]